A New Awakening
by darkbluemoon13
Summary: After finally accepting how to shoot someone in a dream, Ari and the team receive a new job.  But what happens after the job is what will scar Ari the most.  Eames may be the only one that can help her.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on Ariadne! You've got to learn this!" Eames urgently said.

We were training for our first job since the Inception. Or should I say _Eames_ was training _me_. Our job was to extract the deepest, most personal secrets from an American politician, Joseph Strauss. Alex Hamilton, his opponent, wanted Strauss's secrets to blackmail him into changing his political views. They were running against each other to get elected as governor of New York. I didn't particularly like what we were doing, but a job was a job.

Eames, Arthur, Yusuf, and I were currently in my dream. We stood in the middle of a city park, with trees surrounding us and a small pond nearby. Arthur sat on a park bench with his usual three piece suit on, over-seeing our training. Yusuf stood near Eames and me by some beautiful rose bushes that lined the bike path we were training on. He wore some denim jeans with a beige jacket over a dark green t-shirt. Eames was wearing some light denim jeans with a blue and white thin stripped polo shirt with a white jacket on. He stood directly in front of me, pistol in hand.

"Ariadne, you need to be ready if this happens. We were extremely lucky that this didn't happen to you during Inception, but you need to be ready if this happens during any job!" Eames stressed.

Eames was teaching me how to pull someone out of a dream, which included killing them. I wasn't comfortable with that. At all. How could he expect me to kill one of my co-workers? Did he not understand that this might be hard for me to just shoot somebody? Even if it was a dream, even if it didn't actually harm them, just the thought of it made me shiver.

"I know Eames! Don't you think I know that? You've practically burned it into my brain!" I said in frustration, "Don't you know this is hard for me? Wasn't it hard for you? Or are you just so cold blooded that you don't feel anything when you shoot someone?" I asked. I knew that last part was a low blow. I knew I shouldn't have asked that.

Eames stared at me with genuine hurt in his eyes. I started to stammer an apology but he cut me off. Whatever hurt had been in his eyes flickered away to be replaced by his best poker face. No emotion showed, just a blank look in his eyes, like he was bored with what we were doing.

"Yusuf, can you come here for a second?" Eames asked politely and Yusuf walked over and stood by Eames, "Now, Ariadne, I want you to wake Yusuf up." Eames said commandingly.

"Y-You mean shoot him?" I asked, terrified and shocked.

"That's how you do it, love," he said, more relaxed, almost nonchalant.

"No. I don't think I can," I whispered.

"Well then, I guess I have to do this the hard way, Ariadne. I'm sorry." Eames said with a glimmer of regret in his eyes.

He turned toward me; gun raised, and pulled the trigger. The bullet went into my left upper thigh and I screamed out in pain, clutching my leg. My leg was searing and burning with pain and the bullet was lodged deep in my thigh; it looked gruesome. I leaned my weight on my right leg to lessen the pain, but it barely did anything. My crimson blood now slowly leaked through my dark skinny jeans, trickling down my leg.

As I whimpered and gasped in pain Eames said, "This is how it feels when you get injured in a dream. Killing someone is quite different. You only feel a flash of pain, and then you're awake, safe and sound. So what is worse, having one of your teammates suffer with pain like you are? Or put them out of their misery by shooting them, thus having them wake up from the dream?"

"Eames! Wake me up! Please!" I gasped out. I looked toward Arthur pleadingly, but he shook his head, signaling that he didn't have control over the lesson, but he had a pained look in his eyes. The result was the same when I looked toward Yusuf.

"I am truly sorry you had to learn this the hard way, but you had to learn it. So what I am going to do is kill you now so you can wake up, but immediately after you wake up I need you to return to this dream because our lesson is not over yet. Promise?" Eames asked as pity and discomfort filled his gaze at the sight of me in so much pain.

"I promise!" I yelled out painfully.

Without another word, Eames shot me again and everything went black as I slowly fell. Before I hit the ground, I woke up.

_Break_

My eyes shot open. I was sitting in an old lawn chair, bolt upright from the kick. I looked around the warehouse only to find Eames, Yusuf, and Arthur still sound asleep in the dim morning light that was streaming in from the warehouse window. I looked down at my leg, no blood on my jeans or my turquoise t-shirt, no pain, no bullet wound. It was just a dream.

I started to remember what Eames said, so I hooked myself back up to the PASIV and hit the white button, setting the timer for five minutes, and felt the heavy liquid course through my veins. I felt my eyelids droop and then I was asleep once more.

_Break_

I was back in the park, but now it was midday. Birds chirped happily and squirrels ran up and down trees quickly. More flowers were present, some in the most breath-taking oranges, pinks, and yellows. I peered around, but I didn't see any of the men in sight. I strode along the bike path until I reached the end of the park were I saw the men standing about four hundred feet away. They were about two hundred feet away from a river embankment. I ran toward them, dodging traffic as car horns honked and tires squealed. Yusuf was the first to see me coming and waved at me. I waved back, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"Good you're here," Eames said nonchalantly, "Now to continue our lesson."

I let out a sigh as I walked to the men, stopping at an arms length away from Eames. I turned toward Arthur and asked, "Why does he have to teach me this? Why can't you just teach me?"

Arthur let out a heavy sigh and said, "I've already taught you the ways of dreaming. You already know about paradoxes and how to create off of your imagination. I've done all that I can to help you. Eames is the best one for helping you learn how to get people out of dreams. And maybe, at a later point in time, he can teach you how to have a keen eye for detail so you can improve your architecture skills. But what he is teaching you now is what you need to do in an emergency," he finished as he held my inquisitive gaze for quite awhile before turning to Eames and nodding his head for the lesson to continue.

"Right then, Ariadne, here's my gun. I want you to wake Yusuf up. The quicker you do it, the quicker it's over. That's all the advice I can give you," Eames explained, his hard gaze softened as he handed me the cold, heavy gun.

Yusuf walked over and squeezed my shoulder comfortingly and whispered, "I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me," he gave my shoulder one last squeeze before he stepped back and closed his eyes, waiting to be woken up.

I raised the gun slowly, like my body was almost trying to resist what my mind told it to do. I pointed the gun at the middle of Yusuf's forehead. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, something possessed me and my arm suddenly swung towards Eames. I pulled the trigger, the shot rang in my ears, and I saw a small trickle of blood leave the bullet wound in Eames's forehead. He fell to the ground with a thud, and then left the dream.

My breath quickened, almost to the point were I was hyperventilating. Oh my God. I shot Eames.

**AN: The actual plot of the story will come in later chapters, but this chapter will definitely tie into the story later. So I hope you like it! I just made up the politicians, so they are not actual people. Tell me what you like, dislike, and things I should improve on! I know that Eames and the others aren't in their characters, but Eames in this chapter needed to be written as more serious. But I promise that he will get back into character. Reviews make everyone happy :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of it's characters. Christopher Nolan does.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

I sprinted away. I faintly heard Arthur and Yusuf calling my name. I rushed over to the sparkling river and started to raise an oak bridge. It towered high above the river and as I ran across, I saw a large fault line on the other side of the river. That was from where my dream started to fall apart when I exited the dream.

Arthur and Yusuf started to near the bridge, so I made the bridge crumble from behind me. The sound of splintering wood filled the tense silence. They stopped short and shared desperate looks. I continued to run until I was safely across the bridge before I let it crumble completely. With the remnants of the bridge gone, I jogged toward the awaiting city made of shining glass.

I was worried that Eames would find me. Why? Because I just _shot_ him, and I suspected that he would be pretty angry. He could be disguised as anyone, as Arthur, as Yusuf, or even as one of my projections. He could easily catch me, but I could easily lose him in any of my maze.

My breath was becoming more labored and my lungs started to hurt. My legs were becoming numb and heavy, but I kept pumping them with all my might. I was currently running down a street, dodging cars and projections. I looked over my shoulder, and for a split second I saw Eames at the end of the street, looking toward me. He spotted me; apparently he got a glimpse of my midnight blue scarf, and started to rush towards me.

I reached the end of the street which leads into the circular heart of the city. Since Eames had spotted me, I decided to raise an actual maze. I closed my eyes and imagined a maze of mirrors that towered twenty feet high. I opened my eyes and there it was, looking extremely intimidating. The mirrors reflected the sun light, throwing the light every which way, and it almost blinded me.

I threw one last glance over my shoulder only to see a male projection rushing toward me out of the many in the crowd, I had no doubt that it was Eames. I rushed into the maze, maneuvering my way deep inside. I heard Eames call my name, shouting, "Ariadne! Stop running away! Please just show me where you are!"

I heard a few mirrors break as I exited the maze. I let out a sigh of relief and walked toward a nearby park. At least Eames was still in the maze, or so I thought.

Suddenly, Eames appeared before me. I tried running away, but he caught my arm. He lifted me over his shoulder and carried me to a nearby wooden bench while I protested and struggled the whole way there. He gently plopped me down and put both of his arms on either side of my shoulders, trapping me on the bench. I looked anywhere but at his steady gaze.

"Ariadne, just look at me," he said.

I looked up, only to find him smirking at me. I gave him a questioning look and that made him burst out with uncontrollable laughter.

"What?" I asked, "Why are you laughing? Why aren't you mad at me?"

"Because…you seem so _terrified_…like I am mad at you…or something!" Eames choked out between his laughter.

He calmed down enough to explain more, "Why would I be mad at you? I actually find it pretty funny that you shot me, darling. No hard feelings, love. You've learned the lesson. It really didn't matter who you shot, as long as you shot someone."

"Okay? So can you give me some space then?" I asked, uncomfortable with Eames hovering over me.

He stuck his tongue out at me like a child before he backed away. He materialized two guns before he said, "We need to wake up before Arthur gets his knickers in a bunch. So will you have the honors?" he asked, handing me one of the guns.

"Sure," I said evilly, as he and I raised our guns simultaneously and pulled the trigger.

_Break_

We woke up and pulled the needles out of our arms. We went over to our work stations and Arthur announced that he had to go meet with Alex Hamilton. He walked out the door briskly and soon after Yusuf had to leave to get chemicals for the job. Miles was still at the college teaching his last few classes and he said that he would be here later in the evening. So that left Eames and me alone in the warehouse. I continued to work on my cardboard mazes while Eames read our mark's file and his son's file, Brandon Strauss.

Joseph Strauss was on vacation in Naples, Italy. He was going to take a luxury train ride to Paris, but the train would stop in Rome, Florence, Venice, Switzerland, and then end in Paris. It would be a ten hour ride with little interruptions since we would be seated in the first class section in the back of the train. I would have to play a French designer and only speak in French. Miles would play my father, Arthur my lover, and Yusuf and Eames as my body guards.

After about an hour working, Eames became very bored and called out, "Hey Ariadne! Do you want to play poker?" I heard a shuffling of cards and the sound of poker chips clicking together.

"Uh, no thanks, I don't want to risk my neck at a game of poker! I'm not dumb and I know you're the best of the best at poker and I'm definitely not going to lose my money to you," I said.

Eames put on his best pout and sighed dramatically, "No one lets me have any fun around here!"

I put on my best sad face, sticking out my lower lip and said motherly, "Aw poor Eames! Poor baby!"

Eames just stuck his tongue out at me and turned back to his work station. I went back to my maze, thinking of where I should put the short cut. Just as I was reaching for my maze, Arthur, Yusuf, and Miles walked in. Yusuf had an almost giddy look on his face and Miles had a small smile tugging at his lips.

Arthur turned to Eames and me and stated, "We are off to Naples, Italy tomorrow! Pack your things, Ariadne brush up on your French, Eames take the champagne, Yusuf, get your chemicals, and Miles, can you call Cobb? We leave at noon tomorrow, and Strauss's train will leave the next day at six-o-clock."

"This should be enough fun for you Eames!" I chuckled.

I soon would not be chuckling.

**AN: I hope you like it! Just to warn you guys, it will get a little dark in the next and later chapters. This is just a filler chapter, the actual "real" story will come in the next chapter and later chapters. I'm really sorry this took so long to post. I'll try to post a new chapter every weekend, but again there will be no promises. So, tell me what you like, dislike, and things I need to improve on because I want to be a better writer. Reviews make me write faster :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of it's characters.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

The ride to Naples was uneventful. Eames did whatever he could to entertain himself, which included annoying everyone to no end. We stayed the night at a five star hotel at the border of the city, keeping our heads low and trying hard not to be noticed in the bustling streets. The people there were kind and did their best to help us when we mimed out any food or supplies that we needed for the long trip back to Paris. We all got a nice chuckle at the sight of Arthur miming the food we needed to a distressed elderly lady, though he got the point across well. We got all of our supplies and headed back to our hotel.

The hotel we were staying at was extremely nice and luxurious. Each room had two queen beds, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi, a balcony with a breath taking view of Naples, Italy, and separate reading rooms. Each room had large windows that let the sunlight blanket the rooms with a heavenly bright white. Since I was the only girl on our little adventure, I got a room to myself but I had to keep all of the equipment in my room. Arthur and Eames were paired in a room, and I felt extremely sorry for Arthur. Lastly Miles and Yusuf were paired in a room together. Arthur briefed us on the plan one more time before we all went lights out.

_Break_

We arrived at the train station at 5:45 p.m. We weaved our way through the bustling crowd of people to the blue and white train that we were to follow Strauss on. We headed for the last car of the train where the first class compartments were. Since this was a relatively small train, there were only four large compartments in that car.

I was in my disguise as a Paris designer. I wore a gray tank top under a blue pin stripped blouse with a ruffled black skirt. Before we arrived at the train station, I bought some expensive black Italian high heels and large designer sunglasses. To top off my whole look I added a wide brimmed navy blue hat. Arthur was in one of his three-piece black suits and Miles was dressed regularly in his green sweater and khakis. Eames and Yusuf were dressed like body guards in black shaded sunglasses with black pants and black t-shirts. They actually looked a little intimidating.

As we entered the train and gave the director our tickets, I hooked my arm through Arthur's. Strauss was in the back left compartment and we took the back right one which was directly across from Strauss's. Strauss was a thirty-five year old man with black hair and bright blue eyes. He had a pointed nose and a square chin. He had on a gray suit on with a bright red tie.

Everyone entered the lushly decorated compartment and settled down onto one of the six seats. I peered across the train into Strauss's apartment and saw that he was there with his body guard on his computer. It was then that we started the celebration.

We all started cheering and talking. Eames got out the champagne and popped the cork with a loud _plop!_ Yusuf brought out the champagne glasses which had the sedatives in the bottom of the glass. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Strauss look over at us curiously. I smiled widely and kissed Arthur's cheek before I got up with two extra champagne glasses and headed over to Strauss's compartment.

I put on a friendly smile as I opened the glass door and said cheerfully, "Bonjour, je suis Alicia," (Hello, I am Alicia), "C'est mon anniversaire avjourd'hui," (It is my birthday today), "Pourriez-vous pour un peu de champagne?" (Would you care for some champagne?)

Strauss, who obviously didn't understand a word I was saying, only nodded his head politely. I offered him the glass with the sedative in it and he took it reluctantly. He looked at me and I gave him an encouraging nod. He took a small sip, and realizing what the drink was, took a larger gulp of champagne. I gave his body guard a glass as well so he wouldn't interrupt our mission.

I left the compartment soon after and continued to hug and cuddle with Arthur. Once we saw Strauss and his body guards heads fall back we quickly got out the PASIV. We slide the wires across the train into Strauss's compartment and hooked him up. Once that was over we hooked ourselves up and took our sedatives. Before we all conked out, Arthur turned to one of our trusted employees that would watch over our bodies and said, "We should be awake in ten hours. Make sure no one comes into the car. If the body guard wakes up and starts asking questions, just say that we all had a little too much to drink. The wires are hidden, so he shouldn't be able to see them unless he steps out of the compartment. Wish us luck!" He grinned at her before our eyes started to droop.

**In 3, 2, 1.**

Eames and I arrived in front of a large baseball stadium that was filling quickly with projections. Eames turned quickly towards me with a disgusted look one his face and spat, "Baseball? Why, dear God why, does this man like baseball?"

I laughed and said, "I didn't choose his favorite sport! Now you better forge into his son before we go inside!"

"And you should go put your wig and contacts on," he laughed as I stuck my tongue out and headed inside to find the nearest bathroom.

I entered the green and white tiled bathroom and quickly put on my blue colored contacts. I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail and piled all of my hair on top of my small head. I then put a sandy blond wig on and tucked all the loose brunette strands under the wig. I looked down at myself to find that I had on a red t-shirt with jean shorts on. I headed out of the bathroom to find Eames already forged into Joseph Strauss's son, Brandon Strauss.

He looked at least sixteen with sandy light brown hair and green eyes. He wore a Yankees baseball cap with a blue t-shirt and jeans. He cocked an eyebrow at the sight of me and said, "You don't look half-bad as a blond," he winked at me. Even his voice sounded different. His English accent had been replaced with a slightly higher sounding voice with a hint of huskiness.

"You know, Ariadne, we are more alike than different," Eames said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well to start off, we both need to pay attention to small details. You need details so you can build cities to convince the mark that the dream is actually reality. I need the small details to trick the mark into believing that I'm another person. Without the small details, your cities will crumble and the mark will find out that he's dreaming. Without the small details, I cannot forge and therefore cannot trick the mark into thinking that I am another person. So yeah, we are more alike than different," He finished his speech with a mocking smile.

"Thanks for that lecture, Eames," I said sarcastically, "Let's go find Strauss."

We fought our way through the crowd of projections into the immense baseball stadium where the Yankees and Red Sox were playing. We scanned the rows of gray seats until we found Strauss with his wife sitting in the reserved section of the stands. Strauss's wife had Brandon when she was eighteen with another man, but she hadn't married Strauss yet.

After jogging up two flights of stairs, Eames took my hand and led me over to Strauss and said excitedly, "Dad! So glad to see you! I want you to meet Rachel!"

Strauss held out his hand and I shook it. He smiled at me warmly and said, "Nice to finally meet the girl Brandon wouldn't stop talking about. Are you sure you love _my _Brandon? Are you sure you don't have a concussion?" he said teasingly and chuckled, "Why don't you prove your love?"

My mouth dropped in horror. Why would he ask that? That's a very odd thing to ask your son's girlfriend! Eames only smiled evilly and winked. Then, a plan popped into my head. As Eames leaned toward me, I cupped his face with my hands and just as our lips we about to touch, I expertly slid my fingers over his mouth so only the corners of our lips actually touched. We broke apart after ten seconds and I slid my hand quickly back to cup his face. I then hugged Eames and Strauss only chuckled heartily.

He clapped Eames on the back and shouted over the noise of the crowd; "You seem to have found a nice young lady!" he turned to me and asked, "Do you want to come get some food? I want to talk to you and get to know you."

I smiled politely and agreed. We headed for the stairs and I looked back at a confused Eames and mouthed, "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Strauss and I walked into the curving corridor of food stands and souvenir shops. We walked down the curving corridor until the large crowd of projections began to dramatically thin. At this point the food stands and shops have become more spaced and at the end of the corridor I could see the bathrooms.

"Wait…I thought we were going to get food!" I said with panic rising in my voice.

"Uh…don't worry about it," he said shadily.

"Maybe we should go back." I said worriedly, turning around slightly.

Suddenly, Strauss's hand clamped down painfully on my upper arm. He started to pull me into the men's bathroom, though I struggled. He threw me into the red and white tiled bathroom and closed the door. He latched his hand onto my arm once again and slammed me into the wall. He released my arm and pressed his forearm firmly on my neck.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I've waited so long for this. If you tell Brandon, you'll regret it. If you tell _anyone_, I'll have you killed."

It was at this point where panic took over. I started hyperventilating and started to flail about helplessly, trying to fight my way out of his strong grasp. He pressed his body forcefully on mine, pinning his hips on mine which restricted the use of my legs.

Then, Arthur, Miles, and Yusuf entered the bathroom with a loud bang as the door swung open. They were all dressed in black with black ski masks on. Yusuf had his arm around Eames's neck with a gun to his head. Arthur and Miles threw Strauss off of me onto the ground. I maneuvered my way around Strauss and Miles to the opposite wall. Arthur then grabbed me by the nape of my neck and led us all out of the baseball stadium.

Arthur pushed me into the back of a dark blue van and took Eames from Yusuf. Yusuf then got into the driver's seat as the rest of us were piled into the back of the van. Miles put a dark brown bag over Strauss's head and then sat down across from me. Eames was sitting next to Strauss, pretending to be very distressed and whimpered inaudible things to Strauss. Strauss began to reassure Eames but was cut off when Arthur yelled, "Shut up! No talking! Now, I want you to tell us where the safe is!"

"W-What safe? What are you talking about?" Strauss stammered in fear.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Now tell me where the safe is or I'll make sure you'll never recognize your son again!" Arthur yelled, he was growing scarier by the second.

"I really do not know what you're talking about! Please don't harm my son!" Strauss yelled.

"Have it your way then," Arthur said, throwing a fake punch at Eames's stomach.

Eames grunted in pain. Arthur threw another fake punch at Eames's face, causing Eames to grunt in pain once more.

"Are you still not going to talk? Fine then. We'll do this the hard way," Arthur said as he brought the butt of his gun down on Strauss's head, knocking him unconscious.

Arthur let out a sigh and turned to me and whispered, "We'll talk about what happened to you later, but I'm truly sorry that happened. We need to go to the next level. Will you be okay to go?"

I smiled weakly at him and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's do this."

"Yusuf, be careful driving!" Arthur warned before he stuck the needle into his arm that hooked him up to the PASIV. We all followed his example.

Into Arthur's dream we go.

**AN: Sorry this took awhile to get out! My Internet connection was down for a couple days and I needed to look up the French phrases to complete the chapter. This is a little longer than usual, so I hope you like it! I already have the second level planned so that should be up soon! :D Aren't I just a little devil for that "kiss" between Eames and Ari? I just had to do that! I couldn't resist! Anyway, suggestions are welcome; tell me what you like, dislike, and things I should improve on! Reviews are cherished!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I only watched Inception one time, so I don't know how they really transition into the next dream. So I'm just going to say they "woke up" in that place. Disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of its characters, Christopher Nolan does.**

I awoke outside of a grand concert hall with high towers and marble columns. Of course Arthur would dream with something high class and luxurious! I carefully arose from the cold, cement ground and saw Eames, Arthur, and Miles enter the concert hall through large oak doors. I headed over quickly, moving with the sea of projections into the concert hall.

The concert hall had an extravagant ballroom adjacent to it. We were supposed to meet in there for the before party. The actual ballroom was quite beautiful. The cherry wood floors gleamed with a new finish; the ceiling looked like that of a church with the roof peaking gracefully at the center of the room. The marble white walls accented the stain glass windows perfectly. Each stain glass was an exquisite piece of art on its own, all of the colors blended beautifully with the brightest blues, the deepest reds, and the emerald greens. There was a small stage where a band was performing. All of the projections were in the middle of the dance floor.

Through the loud mindless chatter of the ballroom, Arthur suddenly came up from behind me and touched my shoulder and whispered, "We need to blend in. Shall we dance?" he asked with a small smile on his face.

"Of course," I giggled.

We headed for the dance floor and took our dance positions. Arthur took my hand and placed his other hand gently at the small of my back. I held his hand lightly and placed my hand graciously on his shoulder. I glanced around before the music started and saw that all of the men were dressed in black tuxes with bow ties and a red rose in each of their breast pockets. I looked down at myself to find that I was in a black strapless silk dress with a heart shaped neckline and ruffles that gently flowed like a river down the skirt of the dress. I had on black heels and my hair was in an elegant half-up half-down do with soft curls that rested gently on my bare shoulders.

The music began and we started dancing to lively dance. I let Arthur lead and after a few elegant twists, turns, and dips, the dance required the dancers to switch partners. While still keeping up with the quick tempo of the dance, I switched to Miles and then eventually to Eames. Even Eames held me at a respectful distance during the dance!

"You're not too bad as a dancer, love," Eames chuckled.

I laughed and then we switched partners once again. Now I was dancing with Strauss, but he held me a little too close for comfort. Strauss was in a navy blue tux which accented his bright blue eyes. Before I could tell him to back away, it was time to switch dancers again. I ended back up with Arthur and we finished the dance with an elegant twist and then a deep dip. Arthur bowed slightly with a smile on his face and I curtsied awkwardly.

Miles then came up to me and whispered in my ear, "Arthur and I are going to go talk to Strauss backstage. Stay here and try to blend in. We'll come get you when it's time to go."

Arthur and Miles left with Strauss to convince him that he needs protection from dream theft. It was almost exactly what Cobb said to Fischer during the Inception job. They would tell him that in order to be protected from dream theft, he would need to show them all of his secrets.

Now the only thing I needed to worry about was the projections recognizing us as something foreign. Even though Strauss's mind was untrained to fight intruders, I haven't dealt with an untrained subconscious before. I didn't know what could happen.

I briskly walked toward Eames who was standing by a food table with fancy appetizers. I was horrified when I saw Eames flirting with a blond projection in a bright red dress. Arthur would probably throw up at the thought of it. Flirting with someone's subconscious was just…wrong. Talk about messing with someone's mind.

I felt eyes on my back and I looked over my shoulder to find the projections staring at me with fiery hatred in their eyes. I now started to run towards Eames. He looked over shoulder with a quizzical look on his face. On any other day I would find that look hilarious, but now I was terrified.

The projections were now starting to run around in a panic because they didn't know what to do. As I started to push threw the increasing buzz of confusion, some of the projections violently bumped into me and I tumbled down hard on my butt. I tried to protect myself from being trampled by the panicking projections. Eames, now seeing the chaos that was occurring in the ballroom, ran towards me and helped me up. He guarded me as we plowed our way out of the chaos.

He loosened his grip on me when we were on the safety of the pine wood stage. As Eames was helping me up onto the stage, a projection latched a sweaty hand onto my ankle and harshly pulled me down. Eames then quickly switched his grip from my wrists to under my arms so he wouldn't break my wrists. He kicked at the projection until it let go and then swiftly pulled me up onto the stage. With the momentum of the pull I accidentally fell forward and landed awkwardly in Eames's arms. I quickly backed away and felt a blush creep up my neck as Eames chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.

"That was a close one! Gosh you can't even last five minutes without getting into some trouble, darling!" he exclaimed sarcastically.

"Eames, stop being so arrogant and sarcastic! We are on a mission! You need to be more serious!" I scolded, though I didn't know why I was angry all of the sudden.

"Ariadne, calm down! You're safe now, and that's what matters. And I can be serious when I want to!" he said, sticking his tongue out at me.

"You're not helping your case," I mumbled and rolled my eyes.

Arthur and Miles then appeared and dragged us backstage. Strauss was already hooked up to the PASIV as he slept on a fold out chair that stood on the brink of the concert stage. I slid down on the floor as Eames and Arthur began to slide the needles into their arms. Miles was going to watch over us and inform Eames when to set the explosives to wake us up. Miles wished us luck before I finally jammed the needle into my arm and felt the heavy, cold liquid course through my veins. I felt extreme exhaustion quickly take over and before I knew it, my eyes shut and I was falling into the third level.

In 3, 2, 1.

**AN: Sorry this took a long time to put up. I've been really busy, though I know that's never a good excuse. So, yeah, here's the second level, I hope you like it. It is a little shorter than usual and I'm sorry. I need to stop apologizing :D Oh, I do need ideas for places where the third level can be because I can't think of any at the moment. So if you do give an idea, I'll try to put it in the story! Sorry the second level isn't that exciting but I promise the next couple of chapters will be filled with action and drama! Oh, and I did try to add more detail. Thanks for reading! Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

Something sharp was poking my back. I slowly sat up, removing a large stick out from under me. We were in the middle of a humid tropical rain forest. Why was the last level always in a dangerous place? At least it wasn't freezing cold like during the Inception job…

Arthur, Eames, and Strauss were already picking themselves up off the ground. They were all in similar outfits which consisted of beige slacks, a loose-fitted white t-shirt, and varying types of hats. I was in beige, loose-fitted shorts and a tight dark green tank top. It was already quite hot even thought it was only early morning and sweat already was starting to stick my tank top to my upper back. Eames hauled me onto my feet, none to graciously of course, and we started off into the dense foliage.

"So what's the plan?" I asked casually.

"Oh, nothing really, you and our darling Arthur go get the "information", all I get to do is blow up part of a mountain," he said sarcastically.

"Aww! Poor Eames! All he gets to do is blow up a freaking mountain!" I teased and pouted.

"Shut up, after I set the explosives, I'll meet you all at the cave," he said as he slashed away a low hanging branch with a long, sharp machete. Suddenly a black and green colored anaconda fell out of a high tree. I screamed as it slithered slowly toward me, hissing and flicking it's yellow tongue hungrily.

Arthur, who was walking behind me with Strauss, yanked me back away from the anaconda. With me safe, Eames brought out his gun and swiftly shot the anaconda before it could attack. We all let out a deep sigh of relief and continued on up the mountain to the nearby cave.

"That was close! You need to be more careful little girl," Strauss said and I had the deep urge to punch him in the face. I am not a little girl!

As leaves and sticks crunched underneath our hiking boots, we all remained silent. I took the time to look around at the majestic forest. The many different species of trees were amazing and they all soared high up into the gray, cloudy sky. The sounds of the forest were fascinating as well, with the sounds of insects and birds chirping happily and the occasional monkey screech. The smell on the other hand, was a different matter; it reeked of too moist soil and droppings. We were lucky that it was only drizzling, though, more rain would intensify the stench.

After a long period of walking, I spotted the large cave entrance which was shaped almost like a mouth screaming. It was very dark on the inside and off to the right of the cave was a small water fall that glistened in the low lighting. The dim lighting actually made the foliage pop with a bright green. All of the color illuminated the cave entrance, giving it an eerie air about it.

"Well my dear friends, this is the part I bid you goodbye. Though, unfortunately for you, I will be back," Eames said and winked. He ruffled my hair playfully and said, "See you later, love."

He detached from our little adventure group and went further up the mountain. Arthur, Strauss and I entered the cave entrance and sat down upon the cold, gray stone floor and wall of the cave. Arthur turned to Strauss and said, "This is where you must show us all of your personal information if you want to be protected from dream invasion. Are you willing to do this?"

Strauss looked as though he was fighting an inner battle and a pained look crossed his face before he answered reluctantly, "Yes, this seems to be the only way."

Arthur nodded curtly and said smoothly, "Alright, then we must begin. You need to open your mind and let it flow freely. You must let your secrets out. Nothing leaves this cave."

We held each others hands gingerly and closed our eyes tightly. We let the images flow freely through our minds, like water. Once the process started, it felt like a cool breeze encased our bodies. It was almost relaxing, but then the crude images started flashing quickly across our closed eyelids, like a movie set on fast forward.

A strong headache came on as the images became clearer: Strauss cheating on his wife with many mistresses, Strauss beating up his wife, leaving her with a black eye, Strauss's wife sobbing, cradling a broken arm from where Strauss pushed down a set of mahogany stairs, Strauss on a rampage, throwing priceless family photos across the room, having them shatter into a million tiny little pieces. I had the intense urge to open my eyes, but I knew that if I did the temporary link would break.

More images flooded in, this time with Strauss sexually harassing girls at a park, on a street, at one of his apartment complexes, Strauss screaming at his wife, calling her horrible things, Strauss calling his step son gay and a fagot, even though he was straight. The images started to fade slowly and before everything went black, I saw Strauss on even more rampages, his eyes burning intensely with pure rage and fury. The link broke and I abruptly dropped both of their hands. I turned my head away, disgusted at what I saw and I wouldn't bring myself to look at this monster.

Strauss looked ashamed and stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry for what I did. But that's the past now and I am trying to become a new man!" he hung his head.

"You can't become a new man if you're still doing all of those things," I spat menacingly.

Arthur leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Ariadne, detach yourself. This is business. Don't let it get personal." I gave him a reproachful glance before I turned my head to see Eames standing at the cave entrance.

"The explosives are set, I'm ready when you are," Eames said very business like.

Arthur, Strauss, and I got up and stood by the entrance of the cave with Eames, overlooking the beautiful rain forest. Without warning, a shot rang out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a projection run off into the forest. Next to me, Arthur fell with a loud _thud!_ Strauss retreated into the recesses of the cave while Eames helped me drag Arthur farther into the cave. I dropped to my knees next to him and searched delicately for a bullet wound. The bullet entered his chest about an inch above the heart. His white t-shirt was now soaked with his sticky, crimson blood. He coughed up blood as I applied pressure to the wound. With my hands now soaked in his blood, I checked his pulse: no response. He was dead. He was in Limbo.

"Arthur! No!" I screamed in agony as hot tears flowed down my cheeks.

**AN: I'm sorry this took so long to write, I had a huge writers block :/ Next chapter should be out soon :D Thanks for reading, please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Where's the PASIV?" I whispered shakily.

"No. Absolutely not. You are not going into Limbo," Eames warned.

"What are you guys talking about?" Strauss asked.

"Shut up! Just stay out of the way!" I yelled at him, "Just go sit in the corner and don't do anything!" he sent a reproachful glance my way as he made his way to the back of the cave.

I grabbed the PASIV, set it down next to Arthur, and started to assemble it with trembling hands. Eames laid his hand on my shoulder and said, "You are not going into Limbo, I am."

"No you're not going, I am. You haven't even been into Limbo, but I have. I have more experience and I'm the one who got Fischer out. So if I can do it once, I can do it again with Arthur," I said firmly with a no-nonsense tone of voice.

He sighed in defeat and looked at me with eyes that said I shouldn't do this. He knelt down and started to hook Arthur up to the PASIV and said, "I'll guard your bodies and once I hear the music, I will set off the explosives. But, if you're not back in twenty minutes, I'll pull you out."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine and I _will_ bring Arthur back," I said reassuringly, giving him a small smile.

The PASIV was set up so I slid carefully down onto the cold stone and I jammed the needle into my arm impatiently. My eyelids drooped and I knew that Arthur and Limbo awaited me.

_Break_

I thought Limbo would look different, but it didn't. It was still an abandoned wasteland for people who lost themselves in their own dreams and people who lost their sense of reality. In the back of my mind I knew that Arthur was trapped somewhere in the abandoned city of which you could make your own reality. I scanned the crumbling city from where I stood in the cold waves that lapped at my knees, looking for any sign of Arthur. Finding none, I set off into the city.

Walking through the dead silent streets was very eerie. The city loomed over me; I had no idea as to where to look! Arthur was smart, where would he go in Limbo? Probably somewhere high up, I mused, so he could give himself the kick. But he has never been in Limbo; he wouldn't know what to do. Maybe I should look for something high class, like a hotel or a workplace. He already dreamed of a hotel during the Inception job so…

Just as I finished the thought, a fancy hotel appeared as I turned a street corner. It had tall, white pillars that held up a balcony that ran the length of the hotel. It had a large cherry wood door that stood tightly shut. I tentatively touched the shining brass door handle, I was afraid to open the door, I was afraid of what I would find. I plucked up the courage and finally opened the surprisingly heavy door. What I found inside was shocking. The inside of the hotel was completely bare; there was no furniture, no paintings, no anything. A thick layer of dust covered everything and spider webs hung from the high chandelier. The white marble floor stretched out to a grand staircase that led up to a single, simple wooden door.

I carefully ascended the stairs and shakily turned the cold doorknob. I swung the door gently open and peeked inside. Arthur sat in the far corner of the large, bare room directly below a floor-to-ceiling window. He rocked sharply back and forth as I quietly walked toward him. It wasn't until I was right in front of him did he look up.

His usually sleek hair was disheveled, his usually crisp dress shirt was wrinkled, and his usually perfectly shined shoes were scuffed and dirty. His face was pale and his eyes had a worried, tired look to them. He gaped at me with a disbelieving look on his face. Then his disbelieving turned to harsh anger.

"Are you the real Ariadne?" he spat.

I took a step back, slightly afraid. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm the real Ariadne!" I exclaimed, confused.

"Sure you are, that's what all the others say," he spat back.

"What 'others'?" I asked, still having no clue as to what he was talking about.

"The projections, you idiot! Maybe you're just a really dull projection…" he snapped.

"But I am the real Ariadne!" I exclaimed, taking a small step towards him, I raised my hands slightly as if to say I meant him no harm.

"If you are the real Ariadne, then you must answer this question," he glanced up and I nodded my head excitedly for him to go on, "What did I say after I kissed you during the Inception job? None of the other projections could answer this."

"You said, 'It was worth a shot' after I asked why the projections were still watching us," I said confidently.

A look of relief and amazement passed over his face. He staggered up and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and said, "Arthur, we still need to get out of here so…" I trailed off.

"Yes of course," he said, breaking off the hug but then asked, "Uh, how exactly do we get out of here?"

I sighed and said regretfully, "I'm going to have to shoot you."

Surprise flashed across his face but then he nodded quickly, allowing me to shoot him. A gun appeared in my hand and I slowly raised it, pointing it at his forehead. My hand trembled and I whispered shakily, "Arthur, I don't think I can. I respect you too much!"

"Ariadne, you can do it. I won't be hurt, you know that. This is the only way to get out of here," he said softly as he patted my shoulder reassuringly.

I nodded as a tear escaped my eye. I raised the gun once again, pointing it in the middle of his forehead. I remembered briefly when I did the same thing to Eames only awhile ago. I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger and Arthur fell onto the wooden floor with a thud. I turned my head away so I wouldn't see his body if it was still there. Then I raised the gun to my temple and pulled the trigger.

_Break _

Arthur and I both woke up at the same time. When Eames saw us awaken, relief crossed his face and he said, "I hear the music, we have to go."

We all lined up at the edge of the cave opening and Eames set off the explosives. The walls of the cave crumbled and collapsed and we were thrown out and fell downwards to the river that the waterfall flowed into. Before we even hit the water, the kick sunk in and we were torn back into the second level.

_Break_

Miles was ready. He had our bodies lined up by the edge of the stage in chairs, ready to push us over the edge to give us the kick. The second we all awakened he knocked all of our chairs off the edge and then jumped off himself. Back to the first level.

_Break _

We were in the freezing water of a river. Gosh can't Yusuf drive? Water already completely filled the van and I scrambled around for a way to get out. Arthur tapped my shoulder and I turned to find him holding an oxygen mask my way. I gladly took it and then swam through the side door of the van. _This reminds me of Inception, ha-ha._

Just as I surfaced the water, I heard a familiar beeping noise and we were slowly being pulled back into reality.

_Break _

We awoke silently. My hand was still in Arthur's and he gave me a reassuring squeeze. Our helper was already unhooking Strauss. We all quickly unhooked ourselves and hid the PASIV in one of our suitcases. An attendant came in a said politely, "We have arrived in Paris, and have a nice day!"

We grabbed our bags and exited the train. Just as we were about to disappear into the crowd, I turned to Strauss and his body guard and said, "Adieu, mon bon monsieur!" (Goodbye, good sir!)

He nodded in quickly in a silent goodbye and his eyes looked me once over before he left without another word. I let out a sigh of relief as our mission was finally over. I looked at Arthur who gave me a huge smile and whispered in my ear, "Thank you so much for saving me." Eames, Miles, and Yusuf were already walking through the crowd and I turned to Arthur and whispered back, "You're welcome."

A woman in a baggy red sweater was staring at us strangely so I pecked Arthur on the mouth and disappeared into the crowd. No one could find me or any of my team in this mess or ever. I wouldn't ever let that happen. I wouldn't ever let Arthur or any of the team go into Limbo, it hurt too much to see the ones I love and respected fall into the grasp of Limbo.

**AN: Sorry this took so long to write, I had a tough time writing this. So yeah, I tied the first chapter into this chapter. Oh, just as a warning, there will be more violence and other stuff in the next chapter. The next chapter might be the last chapter, but if you think I should continue the story, I will try to continue it. I don't really know what happens if you get shot in Limbo, so I'm just guessing there is nowhere deeper you can go so you just wake up. R&R! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

Eames and Arthur drove me back to my apartment in a mysteriously obtained black sedan. It was getting very late and it was starting to rain so I said my quick goodbyes and entered my apartment. I took of the hat and sunglasses and threw them across my living room table. Upon realizing that I left my purse in the sedan I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Arthur's temporary number. I sat on a stool by my kitchen counter and mindlessly looked over the many pictures I had set on the counter when I first moved in while the phone rang.

On the third ring Arthur picked up, "Hello?"

"Hey Arthur, I just realized I left my purse in the sedan, can you come back so I can get it?"

"Sure, we'll be there in ten minutes!"

"Thanks~" Suddenly I was cut off by arms wrapping tightly around my neck. I managed to choke out, "Help," before I was thrown painfully down to the hard wood floor. Vases and pictures shattered when they hit the floor and glass was strewn everywhere as I tried to loosen the intruders grip around my neck. He gave up on choking me and pushed me roughly to the floor.

The intruder stood over me with a gray ski mask on. I quickly stood up and tried to punch at him, but he expertly caught my arm and twisted behind my back painfully. He grabbed the back of my blue pin stripped blouse and I jerked forward, trying to break free of his tight grasp. To my surprise, the blouse tore and the intruder ripped the blouse off the rest of the way and let it flutter to the ground, leaving me in my gray tank-top. Now I started to kick at the intruder but he flung his body weight forward, knocking me to the ground where bits of glass dug painfully into my back and arms.

Before I could crawl away, the intruder sank heavily down on me, straddling me. His breaths came quick as he slowly took off his mask. To my horror and surprise, it was Strauss, staring at me hungrily with his piercing blue eyes. Part of me registered that maybe he still thought I was French, so I yelled out desperately, "Lachez-moi!" (Get off me)

He chuckled evilly and said, "You're mine now." His voice was very gruff. He smelled very strongly of cologne and alcohol.

The other part of me registered that I hadn't screamed yet and now would be a good time to scream. So I did. I screamed as I threw punches at him. A few of my punches caught him across the face, leaving him with a bloody nose and a few bruises. I tried to kick him, but since he was straddling my hips, my legs were immobilized. I fought some more and I wriggled my legs in a position where I could kick him. I brought my leg forcefully up in between his legs. He cried out in pain and rolled sideways off of me. While I had the chance I scrambled to my phone that somehow was thrown across the room and was lying by the wall. I was only one inch away from reaching my phone, but then I felt a sweaty hand clamp down on my ankle. He pulled me back and straddled me again. To my despair he pulled out a roll of duct tape.

Before I could stop him, he flipped me over onto my stomach where glass dug into my stomach. He yanked my arms behind my back and tied them together tightly with duct tape. My breath quickened to the point of hyperventilation as panic gripped me, I was defenseless. I cried out when Strauss flipped me over again and leaned close to me. His hot breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine. His cracked lips brushed over my neck and collarbone and I tried to wiggle away but his arms held me in place like iron bars, his fingers dug into my shoulders.

I prayed Arthur and Eames would come. They were my only hope. Strauss now was slowly lifting up my tank-top and I whispered desperately, "No, please don't. Arthur, Eames, aidez-moi!" (Help me)

_Break _

Arthur sped down the streets of Paris after we got Ariadne's frantic phone call. Once we got to her apartment building, we rushed up to her apartment and broke down the door. The first thing I saw was Ariadne on the floor with Strauss on top of her with his hands lifting up her shirt, exposing her stomach. Anger surged up inside me and then I pounced on Strauss like a jungle cat, tackling him off of her onto the ground.

Arthur already was taking the duct tape off of her wrists and he slung his jacket around her shoulders gently. Arthur led her quickly out of the apartment, practically carrying her, but I caught her glance as she walked out shaking: she looked stricken and traumatized. Arthur stopped at the threshold and said, "Take care of him, Eames. Don't kill him, just take care of him."

I nodded curtly and watched as Arthur led the trembling Ariadne down to the car. I turned toward Strauss and spat bitterly, "You bastard. You'll regret what you've done," I slowly raised my gun and cocked it.

**AN: There should be at least one more chapter after this! Again, I do not own Inception or any of its characters. Sorry this is kind of short. Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inception or any of its characters, Christopher Nolan does.**

It all was a blur to me. I remembered being led out to the car by Arthur, then the whole car ride to the warehouse was a giant blur, it must have taken at least forty minutes to race across the city, but it all seemed to flash by in a matter of minutes, seconds even. The next thing I knew I was being gently helped out of the car and quickly whisked into the warehouse to avoid the cold, pouring rain.

Arthur sat me down at his workstation and retrieved a medical kit from one of the drawers of his desk. I sat there silently, staring fixedly at the spider web cracks in the concrete floor, as Arthur got out some tweezers and carefully plucked pieces of glass out of my back, arms, legs, and stomach. I would wince every time I heard a loud tinker of glass as yet another large shard of glass was taken out and dropped onto his desk. The pain was numbed by my daze to only a burning and stinging sensation.

After Arthur finished removing the glass, he delicately patched up all of my cuts and scratches with gauze strips and bandages. As I quickly lowered my shirt he said that none of the wounds were deep enough to require stitches and that all of the wounds would heal nicely so there would be no scars.

"Ariadne…I'm so sorry…I…Strauss will regret what he's done and I'll make sure he will never come near you again. He won't ever harm you, I promise," Arthur said quietly, pulling me into a soft embrace, carefully avoiding my wounds, before he pulled back, hand still squeezing my shoulder reassuringly, before he whispered, "I'll be back soon, I need to call Yusuf and Miles. I have to contact the client, too, he will need to hear about this…" he trailed off, looking towards the door.

I turned around to find Eames storming in, face flushed red and white with anger. Though when his eyes landed on me, his expression softened, his whole _body _relaxed its tense stature. Arthur turned back to me and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can, but Eames is going to watch you for awhile," he looked as if he wanted to say something more, but he merely bit his lip and hugged me once more before he walked briskly over to Eames and started to talk in low, hushed tones.

I turned to look out the window and watched as water droplets slowly slid down the window pane as the rain fell harder and harder, making a _spit-spat_ noise that was oddly comforting and familiar. I leaned up tiredly against one of the large, white Grecian columns that held up the high ceiling. Blue-gray light seeped heavily through the dirty window, casting the whole warehouse in a dim, bleak light, though somehow it fit the mood perfectly. Somehow, the atmosphere was extremely befitting to the mood, to _my _mood. I self-consciously wrapped Arthur's jacket tighter around me, hugging my waist. As I contemplated my situation with a heavy heart, I faintly heard the door click shut and the room went very silent, though I didn't need to look back to know who was there.

_Break _

"So what did you do with Strauss?" Arthur asked quietly as he moved away from Ariadne with an exhausted expression on his face, his usually cool demeanor slowly slipping away to expose worry and fear.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair before I whispered back, "I, uh, planted some cocaine on him, don't ask me where I got it, bloodied up his shirt, placed weapons on him, hired a hooker to say that he raped her and dumped him off at a police station, passed out. As soon as I left the cops came out and arrested him. If this doesn't give the client what he wants, I don't know what will. The client will get his dirt on Strauss whether he gets it from the information we extracted or by simply turning on the TV and watching the news. So, all in all, I took care of Strauss," Eames finished with a serious and distraught look on his face when he glanced over at Ariadne. "How is she?" he asked carefully.

"Physically, she has some cuts and bruises, but emotionally, I can't tell yet. That's one of the reasons why I need you here. You need to guard her and comfort her. I need to go call the client and get Yusuf and Miles over here. I'll be back as soon as I can," Arthur said quietly, shooting a regretful look Ariadne's way. He turned to leave, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly, but then he turned back and whispered, "Eames,_ please_ take care of her_._" His eyes had a desperate pleading look in them. I knew what I had to do. I nodded reassuringly and he turned on his heel to leave.

When Arthur left, I slowly made my way over to Ariadne, who was standing by a massive white column, looking longingly out the window as drops of water slid down the glass. I took the opportunity to actually get a good look at her. Her usually sleek, wavy hair fell around her small head in matted clumps stuck together with dried blood. Her tiny legs bore long, welting scratches that went from her inner thigh all the way down to past her knees from where Strauss was clawing under her skirt. Her gray tank-top had her scarlet blood streaked all over it and gauze strips and bandages covered her arms, back, legs, and stomach. Her face was bruised with grotesque shades of purple and blue from where her head was smacked against the floor and her neck bore similar bruises from where Strauss had tried to strangle her.

But the worst thing was the haunted look in her eyes, like the life had been sucked out of them in an instant, leaving a cold, former shell of who she once was. It crushed me to see her so broken, so destroyed, like a beautiful porcelain doll that was smashed and you couldn't quite put all the pieces back together. The doll would never look the same, nor ever be the same again because that one small part of her was missing. In Ariadne's case, she lost her security, her sureness of her safety, her _innocence._ I inwardly promised myself and Ariadne that I would do my absolute best to help her regain all that back, because she deserved no less.

When I reached Ariadne, arms crossed over her small torso protectively, a part of me yearned to comfort her. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again to whisper shakily, "Eames…I'm so _scared_…I was almost raped! He could have raped me, he could have _killed _me! If…If it hadn't been for you guys, I don't know what would have happened…" she trailed off, sobs racking through her petite body, making her shudder uncontrollably. She looked up into my eyes with her tear-filled eyes, and when a tear escaped, I couldn't restrain myself any longer.

I brought both my hands up to gently cup her delicate face, wiping the tear away with the pad of my thumb. She didn't move, she stood perfectly still, but she didn't protest, she actually seemed comforted by the action. Hands still cupping her face I slowly leaned toward her and when our lips brushed, she didn't protest.

I kissed her softly and sweetly, then she started to kiss me back with the same softness. I put everything I had into that kiss: understanding, reassurance, comfort. I wanted to wipe away all of her troubles, all of the fear, the worry, and the hate. I didn't want to just _tell_ her I was there for her, that I would always protect her, I had to _show_ her; I had to show her that she could trust me.

The kiss was short but when it was over, Ariadne looked at me with new-found trust and I could see that slowly her emotional wounds were healing. I could see that her inner battle was starting to subside. Then, throwing caution to the wind, she rushed towards me and flung her arms around my neck in a hug, burying her face into the nook of my neck where I could feel hot tears forming. I hugged her back tightly as she gasped sobs out. "Oh, Ariadne, love, I'm sorry," I whispered into her ear comfortingly, "Shh, it's going to be alright, I'm here. I always will be."

I lead her carefully over to the wall and sunk down, pulling her onto my lap as I rubbed her back soothingly in small circles. I took my jacket off and slung it over her shoulders over Arthur's jacket as she continued to cry silently. I didn't know how long we sat there together as I made comforting cooing sounds but it was quite some time until she whispered, "I know you'll always be there, Eames. I always knew you would. Thank you," she looked up at me, eyes slightly red and puffy but rid of tears, and gave a small smile. I was overjoyed to see that wonderful smile again.

About an hour later, we still sat on the floor but Ariadne was somewhat peacefully asleep in my lap. Arthur, Miles, and Yusuf quietly walked in but after they saw us sitting together, they all slowly backed out. Before they left though, Arthur went to go retrieve some blankets and pillows and we gently laid Ariadne down on a makeshift bed. Miles and Yusuf quietly promised that they would be back when she woke up. After they all left, I lied down next to Ariadne and gently took her small hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

As I lay there silently, looking up at the ceiling, I realized that it was no longer raining. The storm had passed. I smiled; _we made it through the storm._

**AN: This was kind of angsty and a tiny bit fluffy but it seems like a good way to end the story. So, sadly, yes this is the end but it was probably the best spot to end it. I'm very, truly sorry that this took so long to get out, but it is out now and I hope this ending makes up for it! Thank you everyone who reviewed, story-alerted, favorited, and read my story! It really does mean a lot. Review please!  
**


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